Two U.S. senators honor Bobby Cox

Escobar to 15-day DL

Posted: Wednesday, May 05, 2010

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Another record for Bobby Cox - the Congressional Record.

The Atlanta Braves manager spent Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill, where he received framed copies of statements made by a pair of senators honoring his career. Sens. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia submitted the statements into the Congressional Record on April 20.

Cox ranks fourth on the career wins list among managers. He is retiring at the end of the season.

Cox didn't dabble in political talk while at the Capitol. He said: "We were talking all baseball."

Escobar to 15-day DL

The Braves have placed shortstop Yunel Escobar on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of infielder Brandon Hicks from Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Braves made the moves before Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals.

Escobar missed his fourth straight game Tuesday with a strain on the inside of his left thigh. He's hitting .215 with eight RBIs.

Omar Infante has been starting in Escobar's spot during the injury.

Hicks was batting .179 with one home run and six RBIs with Gwinnett.

Nats promote Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg dominated in Double-A. Now it's time to see what he can do at the next level.

The Nationals promoted their No. 1 overall draft pick to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, keeping him on pace for a major league debut in the next month or so.

"We thought it was time for him to take the next step," general manager Mike Rizzo said.

Strasburg went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts with Double-A Harrisburg, striking out an Eastern League-high 27 and walking six in 22 innings. He ranked first in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio and strikeouts per nine innings.